Early Martyrs Against Religious-Pluralism
Most modernist Catholics have a sentimental devotion to the early martyrs. Perhaps in the eyes of modernist Catholics, the early martyrs seem like weak but ignorant victims at the hands of bygone Roman procurators. Perhaps this is simply how things happened in a more cruel time of world history? Yet, we must remember that St. Felicity had her execution delayed with St. Perpetua precisely because she was pregnant. Even the Roman Empire would not kill an unborn baby, as they admitted this was shedding innocent blood. So, which age is more cruel? Ours or theirs? Another thing we may overlook today is that the pagan procurators of the Roman Empire [...]
My Experience of the Sacraments in Africa
One of the few "racially insensitive" things I have said in my life (and by "insensitive" I mean how as a liberal, I spoke as a liberal, that is, talking down to ethnic folks while sounding like you're talking up to them) happened several years after my priestly ordination and I was visiting the FSSP seminary in Denton, NE. I met a Nigerian seminarian in the refectory and we talked about my mission work. (I told him how I had been on mission to Rwanda in 2014 as a priest. Then, I was still doing both the Novus Ordo and the TLM. See above picture and below picture.) In [...]
The Mystical Body’s Ever-Changing Crucifixion
The earliest age of the Church was the age of blood martyrs. As I currently am reading the Victories of the Martyrs by St. Alphonsus, I am repeatedly shocked how spontaneously the earliest Catholic men and women and children chide their Roman procurators for their pagan worship. Before the threat of flames, little girls openly declare they would rather suffer several minutes in the flames than the eternal flames to which the Roman procurator will throw himself if he does not repent for his idolatry. That early age of the Church carried the physical cross of Jesus Christ. Indeed, many of the early martyrs were literally crucified, as was Our [...]
Revisiting “Santa Muerte”
On my video called Theology and Current Events (TCE) #41 I was joined in early 2022 by Armando Valenzuela to discuss the Mexican “devotion” called “Santa Muerte.” Mr. Valenzuela is a former police officer and special-agent from the Los Angeles Police Department. One thing Armando made clear (and no one can accuse him of "racism" since he's half-Mexican and half-Pima Indian) is that the Santa Muerte devotion is not an old Mexican devotion based in Catholicism, but a new diabolical act of worship of the demon of death introduced into the country by Mexican drug cartels. Or, more likely, as we will see later, it is a return of the [...]
Why (and How) to Baptize a Miscarried Baby
The following was written by Alana M. Rosshirt in a 1958 production of Marriage: The Magazine of Catholic Family Living. Please open the pdf here to read about importance of baptizing miscarried babies, and how to do it. Also, free to print it. Although the above pdf is the main thing that I hope you will read in this blog post, I want to mention a few more things about baptism. The following canons from the new code of Canon Law (released in 1984 under Pope John Paul II) reveal some of the most overlooked parts of the theology and practice of infant baptism. Keep in mind that that the [...]
The Four “C’s” of a Good Confession
Before going to confession, remember to never bring your phone in the confessional (as a phone even in airplane-mode may be hacked by the government or another enemy.) Rather, write out your sins on a piece of paper that you may wish to bring into the confessional. Then, begin your confession by saying to the priest your state in life (married, single, priest religious) and then say how long it's been since your last confession (one week, one month, one year, etc.). Say, "I accuse myself of the following sins..." as you keep in mind the traditional Four C's of Making a Good Confession: Clear. Someone recently told me about an [...]
The Four Lacunæ of the “New Evangelization”
The "old evangelization" is better than the "new evangelization" not because old things are better (which is generally true) or that human-nature is more fallen than it was in the 16th century (which is also probably true) but because of two other specific reasons: 1) The "old evangelization" goes back to Apostolic times where the ascetical life of union with Christ drove the exterior life of spreading the Catholic Faith (unlike the "new evangelization" that is reliant on people being relevant and "contagious.") 2) The old-evangelization worked, unlike the new evangelization. Even promoters of the new evangelization admit that in the United States, for every convert coming in the front-door [...]
The Bridge Given to St. Catherine of Siena
Some leftist "Catholics" now call traditional Catholics names like "Pelagians." Pelagianism is the 4th century heresy that one could be saved by good works alone with no need for grace. It's very ironic that leftists call traditionalists "Pelagians" since we are always confessing our sins to obtain the grace of forgiveness. But the other reason it's ironic that leftists call traditionalists "Pelagian" is because nearly every lefty-Catholic is a Pelagian by virtue of their own theology. Here's why: Most lefty-Catholics believe that following one's own conscience is enough to be saved, even if you die a pagan or Jew or Muslim. That is exactly the same definition as Pelagianism, but [...]
“He is to Be Accused by His Subjects.”—St. Isidore
I do not want this blog to turn my readers into "heresy hunters" since recognizing heresy is not enough to obtain eternal life. Also, there is so much heresy in current "Catholics" (both lay and clergy) that your "heresy hunting" would become an exhausting effort. But this blog is worth writing because there is an odd gnostic-myth floating around Catholic circles today that a heretic in the hierarchy can only be recognized by either a group of Cardinals or an obsolete battery of canonical trials. While it is true that the saints seem to delineate between "material heresy" (small points) and "manifest heresy" (obvious heresy) the latter is held by [...]
Keep the Old Liturgical Books Safe
N.B: I will be on silent retreat for a week. Because I usually upload blogs, podcasts and videos a week ahead of time, my production schedule will normalize mid-January. I hope to re-start myself (by God's grace) and also re-start my education series like VLX and the Sunday Sermon Series in a couple weeks. I'm sorry for my absence on that, but one reason for the delay is that we had a medical emergency. By your prayers, everything is good on that front, now. Please pray for me on retreat. In Victories of the Martyrs as conglomerated by St. Alphonsus Liguori, we read about St. Philip, the bishop of Heraclea: [...]